Home-bound Indian shooters miss flight in Incheon

Sep 22, 2014, 20:20 IST
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Six Indian shooters, including women's 10-m air pistol bronze medallist Shweta Chaudhary, were today forced to miss their flight back home after the completion of their events in the 17th Asian Games here due to security issues

Incheon: Six Indian shooters, including women's 10-m air pistol bronze medallist Shweta Chaudhary, were today forced to miss their flight back home after the completion of their events in the 17th Asian Games here due to security issues.

Indian contingent's Chef-de-Mission Adille Sumariwalla said the shooters were delayed at the Korean customs. "Six shooters had to take the flight at 10 am but their weapon numbers did not match to those written on the forms and some of them had knives, screwdrivers etc with them. They got delayed and missed the 10 o'clock flight and left by the evening flight after we resolved the problem," said Sumariwalla.

National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) secretary Rajiv Bhatia said it was completely a security issue.

"After customs, security checks, the shooters were about to board the flight when they were called by the security. Thesecurity said the shooters were carrying screwdrivers and lighters with their weapons and were told to put it on their checked-in baggage.

"It is normal for shooters to carry lighter and screwdrivers as they need them for blackening, tightening fixing the sides of weapons. Due to all this they missed the flight," Bhatia said.

Bhatia said if there was a need of filling up any declaration form at the the airport, the shooters ought to have filled in the form.

"We arrange for gun permit, the shooters are supposed to fill in the form, not NRAI," he added.

Besides Shweta, who opened India's tally in the ongoing Games by winning a bronze on the first day morning, the other shooters travelling back to India were Mansher Singh, Kynan Chenai, Om Prakash, Malaika Goel and Omkar Singh.